/ La Sportiva Solutions, Futura's or Speedsters advice please.

Having gone through many different types of shoes over the years La Sportiva shoes fit my feet the best. I am currently climbing in Miura VS' and Pythons. Both are about to be sent of to Torquil for a resole but I am tempted to buy a third pair.

My questions are:-

1. How quickly do the Futura and Speedsters wear through the toes compared to Miura's being that they have 3mm rubber?

2. Are they really so much better than Miura's?

3. Can the Futura's and Speedsters be resoled and if so, how were they afterwards?

I reckon the solutions would be the most versatile and offer something *slightly* new compared to your current shoes. What style of climbing will you mostly be using them for and what has made you think you need a new pair of shoes?

A while back, Torquil said that he gets good results with the solutions but I can imagine the other two being a bit more tricky. Send him an email or give him a call, that's what I did.

I personally didn't love the 'no edge' shoes, though I didn't spend long in them. I've heard they're very good for smearing and for 3D climbing on big holds (I've heard that toeing in on small edges is a challenge, especially on steep ground).

Thinking about what you're currently got, the pythons and very soft, so good for smearing and have a decent amount of toe rubber for toehooks. The VS are a decent all rounder so to be honest, most bases are covered. If you've got loads of spare cash and don't feel 100% happy with what you've got then why not try something else I guess (I do all the time!).

In reply to womblesi: I've not used the futuras or speedsters, as nowhere stocks them small enough to try on, so I cannot comment on them. However i have extensivly used both the miura vs and the solution. I find the miura excellent on really small footholds and the heel is great. The solution toe is probably the best toe I have ever used and the rubber is very sticky however it is a bit softer than the miura being the "grip" rather than the "edge". The heel on the solution is brilliant for somethings like; heal hooking on slopers and behind jugs. However for small edges and incut slots I find it too big and its likely to slip off or I cannot get it to stick.
I have recently changed to the scarpa instinct vs and the toe is almost as good as the solution however the heel is the best i have ever used and has certainly helped me to do so many more problems than before that require heel hooks.
I hope this helps.

I do resole Futuras/Speedsters, the are no problem to do except I don't put the wrap around top-rand back on in the same way. I break it into a separate top piece and sole similar to a Solution or Shaman, so I leave the original top-rand on and replace the sole.

You can choose to keep it edgeless or put a traditional edge on - opinion seems a bit divided on this so far, some people have raved about its edgelessness, a couple have asked for a edge to be put back.

As with all thin performance shoes I'd recommend getting them resoled before the rands have worn through. That said the Futuras are really well made and if caught early they should be able to take multiple resoles pretty well.